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A whole growing season has passed since our last post in August 2016!! Whilst the blog has been quiet, activity in the vineyard has not, so we thought we would give an overview of the season from pruning last winter through to autumn 2017.

PRUNING is one of the biggest and important tasks in the growing year, setting the foundations for the following harvest. The vineyard is all pruned by hand and takes approximately 3 months to complete, work taking place come rain or shine!

Celebrating the end of pruning 🙂

A light dusting of snow in July

A very cold start to a beautiful day in August

Always a welcome sight – a rainbow seen from the 98 Block

Winter also saw good rainfall. By the end of September we were 93 mm above the long term average. This meant that the vines were well set up with deep soil moisture for the growing year.

The creek overflowing across the road to the vineyard

BUDBURST was early, around the 12th September and was uniform across the blocks. Once again, the frost system provided protection from the early spring frosts. After the early start, the months of October and November were very cool and the growth was healthy but slow.

New growth.

The overhead sprinklers of the frost system in action.

Tender buds protected under the ice

A slow start

Beautiful even growth in our 2000 block

FLOWERING started around the 12th December, the weather was perfect leading to a really excellent FRUIT SET. An unexpected frost on the 19th December with temperatures dropping to -1.5 C in parts of the vineyard resulted in burn damage to our 97 Block.

Each individual flower is a potential berry on a bunch

Good weather = good pollination = good fruit set 🙂

A very healthy canopy supporting strong bunch development in the 98 Block

VERAISON was well underway by early February after several months of vigorous growth – the slow start by now a distant memory. The vineyard team trimmed the unruly canopy to ensure good air circulation and light penetration to the precious fruit.

Veraison – anticipation of the harvest to come.

Trimming and tucking

The powerhouse!

HARVEST 2017 started with a small ‘in house’ pick on the 31st March, with full picking starting on the 3rd April. The harvest was plentiful with excellent, clean quality fruit. Picking went smoothly, and took in total 8 days to complete, finishing on the 13th April. The heavy rain that came on the 9th and 10th resulted in a 3 day break in the picking but luckily did not affect the small remaining amount of fruit.

The team taking samples for testing prior to harvest

Beautiful clean bunches of Pinot Noir.

Good harvesting weather for the Pinot Gris

The end of another year.

AUTUMN 2017 sees the vineyard entering winter dormancy and our thoughts are once again turning to pruning which will begin in a week or so at the start of June….the cycle continues 😀

Cutler & Co. will be returning to Curly Flat for a degustation lunch on Sunday 17th July. The partnership of our wines, current and older vintages, with Cutler & Co’s relaxed, yet sophisticated approach to food, have made for many memorable lunches at Curly Flat since 2007. The menu will be posted on our website.

Public transport options are available. Please direct all enquiries to our office on the details below.

The all-inclusive price is $185 / person. These lunches sell out quickly! Book 03 5429 1956 or send by email to mail@curlyflat.com

I came to Stockholm and Helsinki to help my sister who is participating in a Wine Australia event. Jeni has a vineyard and winery called Curly Flat in the Macedon Ranges area in Victoria. They produce some of Australia’s best Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.

The first event was in Stockholm in the Opera house, which sits opposite the Royal Palace in Gamla Stan. We had quite a view from our venue. Unfortunately I couldn’t open the windows so the photos of the view mostly didn’t turn out well.

Helsinki was next. This time we were in the summer courtyard of Sipuli restaurant, beside the harbour and below the Russian church.

The room was set up beautifully.

The event was well attended and we met some delightful and interesting people. Having a Finnish surname sparked quite a few conversations.

Both the Swedish and Finnish governments have a monopoly on alcohol. It…

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On the 5th of August, we’ll be heading up to Bistro Moncur situated in the Woollahra Hotel in Woollahra, NSW. We won’t be coming empty handed of course, as we’ll be bringing two chardonnays as well as five Pinot Noirs including the single lot release ‘The Curly’. It will be a great night of cool climate wine and warming winter food, what could be better?

The cost of $170 p/person includes entry to Pinot Noir Australia on August the 6th 5.30 -8.30 p.m. With over 150 Australian Pinot Noirs to try, its not to be missed…

All bookings & enquiries are to be made through Curly Flat, please phone us on 03 5429 1956 or via email: office@curlyflat.com Please find the degustation menu below:

As they say, nothing good comes easy. With our 2011 vintage, that well worn adage transcended from philosophy to fact. Despite 2011 being our most challenging vintage to date, we have managed to grow and craft some of our finest wines to date. But that’s all fine for us to believe that, but nothing beats what you think or how a wine is actually received by the wine community. So here is Bob Campbell MW & Huon Hooke’s perspective on our 2011 CF Chardonnay, courtesy of Gourmet Wine Traveller…

2011 Curly Flat Chardonnay, Macedon Ranges Review

“Bright, light yellow colour; very subtle restrained aromas, fresh and citrusy, the oak is almost invisible. In the mouth it’s precise and fine, long and refreshing. A superb wine with a long future.”97 Points Cellar for: 9 years

The 2011 Curly Flat Chardonnay will be officially released in August 2013.

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As we welcome the return of Union Dining to Curly Flat, Chef Nicky Riemer with her flare for provincial European cuisine (along with her team) will provide a culinary backdrop to highlight the complexity and longevity of Curly Flat wines.

With the lunch long sold out, please find below the menu which celebrates the perennial union where inspired food & great wine meet…enjoy!